Food Near Home is Better

 In Idaho the movement towards home grown vegetables and organic gardening has exploded. It doesn’t matter whether it’s hobbyists who just love to tinker around in their backyard gardens or small-time farmers who are bringing their produce to market. The unstable economy has encouraged a record number of people with their own little piece of Idaho to buy seed packets, visit nurseries and attend educational classes so they can plant a backyard garden.

 Boise’s Capital City Public Market bustles with activity every Saturday this time of year, with thousands of people combining a social occasion with an opportunity to buy fresh produce.  And listen to this. The University of Idaho is teaching classes on how to garden and actually teaching farmers about organic foods. Nursery operators report a major increase in sales of vegetable garden plants as well as vegetable seeds.

 Even Food Network Star Robin Miller says there are so many opportunities for new foods and old favorites just down the road from you: “The food tastes better when it’s so fresh like that. When it comes straight from the vine or the tree or the bush or the ground. And then supporting your local farmers is so key. And if you’re shopping at these local markets and you’re keeping your local economy going, the shorter distance from where you purchase your food to your plate, that’s the best way to go always.